Celebrate Canada’s 150th with a Spectacular Jos Louis Cake

When I was growing up, there was one coveted lunch box treat that all the children desired more than anything. It was a Jos Louis! This Canadian-made dessert has a special place in many grownups’ memories and kids’ lunches to this day. It’s a delicious red velvet sponge cake with a vanilla-flavoured crème filling coated in a milk chocolate layer. Did you enjoy them as a child? I have to say, I didn’t get them often but when I did, they were one special treat. Just thinking about Jos Louis’ brings back memories.

To celebrate Canada’s upcoming birthday, I thought it would be awesome to surprise my little ones with a very Canadian Jos Louis cake! Truth be told, my husband (being American) and my kiddos have never tried this decadent treat before, so why not do it up big? There are a few variations of this cake out there on the interwebs, but this is my take on the classic treat. 

Betty Crocker offers an easy-to-make, super scrumptious red velvet cake mix, which I used to make the layers. To replicate the vanilla-flavoured crème filling, I combined whipped vanilla frosting and marshmallow crème. It made the perfect icing, which reminded me so much of the original. To finish,  I covered the cake with a delectable milk chocolate glaze and voila! It looked just like a huge Jos Louis!

I am SO making this cake again for Canada Day! When I surprised my family with it, they were amazed by the story behind it, as well as how absolutely spectacular and scrumptious it was.

The rich, moist red velvet cake had the perfect crumb, the fluffy, sweet crème filling complemented it wonderfully and the milk chocolate ganache was the perfect touch to make it just like the real thing.

Below you’ll find the simple three-step recipe to making this amazing cake. And don’t worry if it’s not perfect. It can be tricky to get the ganache evenly over the sides of the cake, but I guarantee you everyone will enjoy it!

Print

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Jos Louis Cake


  • Author: Emily Smith

Description

A crème-filled red velvet cake, rich with flavour covered in chocolate goodness


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 box Betty Crocker Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting baked in two 9-inch round cake pans. *Did not use the cream cheese frosting.

Crème Filling

  • 1 can of whipped white icing
  • ½ jar (aprox. 100 g) of marshmallow crème

Milk Chocolate Ganache

  • 1 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 1/3 cup whipping cream

Instructions

  1. Use a bread knife to cut flat the top of one of the 9-in. round cakes, so you have an even surface. Place the cake on a tray for icing (you may wish to transfer to serving platter after).
  2. To make filling, combine white icing with marshmallow crème.
  3. Spread icing generously over the first layer.
  4. Top with second cake layer. Place cake in freezer for around 20 minutes for the icing to settle and cake to be easier to manage.
  5. To make glaze, heat chocolate chips and whipping cream in a saucepan for 1 minute over medium-high heat. Stir until chocolate is melted. Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
  6. Pour ganache over top of cake. Use a metal spatula to spread the over top and sides of cake. If chocolate pools at the bottom of the cake, use your spatula to scrape off excess chocolate and a moist paper towel to wipe off chocolate marks. Refrigerate cake for 1 hour or overnight.
  7. Slice and enjoy!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 12

We’re Celebrating Canada’s 150th with a giveaway:

I’ve teamed up with Life Made Delicious to celebrate Canada’s 150th with a giveaway of amazing products! One lucky winner will receive a prize pack valued at just under $100! 

To enter, follow the instructions in the widget below, including additional entries you can make by following Life Made Delicious social channels (Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook). This giveaway is open to Canadian residents only. The winner will be announced on May 18th, 2017. Good luck friends! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


 Emily Smith is an Ambassador for Life Made Delicious and a member of the “Delicious Experts” Influence panel. This post is in partnership with Life Made Delicious. As always, opinions are personal.

Emily Smith

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152 Comments

  1. You had me at Joe Louis!! YUM! This looks amazing, Emily! I’m definitely giving this one a try. I have a feeling the whole family would love this!

    1. Thanks Sandy! Doesn’t it bring back memories!! It was so neat to introduce my kids to such an iconic Canadian treat. I hope you’ll give it a try, it’s seriously delicious.

  2. Yes, I ate Jos louis cakes growing up & I ‘m keeping this recipe to make this cake in the future.

  3. oh my goodness the best treat in the lunchbox growing up was a joe louis…I would love to make this cake

  4. I could see myself making this for my daughter – her favourite cake is chocolate ! To be totally honest , I never saw or heard of this treat until well into my thirties – I seem to have been living under a rock or something ! LOL

  5. I loved Jos Louis when I was growing up. It was always a treat to receive one on my lunch! Yes, I could definitely see myself making this cake!

  6. I actually had never heard of Joe Louis until I was an adult -Wagon wheels were the big treat that we all wanted (maybe the difference is that you are in Ottawa and I lived close toToronto). I totally get why they would be a huge treat though. If I had been exposed to them as a child they would have been a favourite . they are delish. I might make this cake -I am trying to lose weight so cake making is not on the radar right now. I would make it in the future though as I love new recipes.

  7. This is my dream cake! I still love Jos Louis and buy them regularly. Mom Confession: I hide them in the vegetable drawer in the fridge and eat them when I’m alone so I don’t have to share.

  8. I did not grow up with the chocolate cakes but we had the carmel cakes. However, my husband did and Jos-Loui’s are his favourite treat ever! He’s love this cake!

  9. I did not, but I definitely can see myself making this cake. I love to bake and make yummy food.

  10. this looks awesone. I think everyone ate them when growing up. I would love to make the cake but I might add some shredded choc on top… little side note. I never call them now Louis. I always call them jello louis… don’t know why

  11. My mom would never buy them for us! Haha. But this cake does look delish, I would try it for sure!

  12. I’ve never heard of Joe Louis cake but I would definitely like to get to know it better, that’s for sure!
    Thanks for the chance to win!

  13. OMG can I ever…I loved them as a child and love them even more now that I can buy them when I want…hehehe

  14. I am not big into sweets and I actually have never had a Jos Louis, but with my sweets-loving hubby and kids this cake is a sure winner and I do love to bake! Thank you for the recipe!

  15. I loved Jos Louis growing up and as an adult . I have been looking for a great desert for Canada Day and this is it !!! I will definitely be making this !!

  16. I honestly didn’t know of any such cake as a Jos Louis coke. I saw the store boxed product later as an adult.

  17. I did like them growing up – they were a special treat in our lunch boxes once in a blue moon! 😉

  18. I loved them growing up! I could try and make this cake but I know it would not be as picture perfect as this!

  19. I love Jo’s Louis. We used to begin Mom for them.
    I can absolutely see making this cake for my nieces and nephews.

  20. oh I would TOTALLY make this cake! My dad used to buy jos louis all the time when i was younger. actually miss them

  21. When I was growing up my mom always baked what we ate and she never bought these cakes. I would make this cake to take to a potluck for sure. I am afraid that if I made it for us I would eat way too much because it looks delicious!

  22. Heck yes ! And I still eat them 🙂 they were my fave item to have in my lunchbox as a kid !

  23. Jos Louis was in my lunch box a lot while growing up. I could definitely see me making this cake!

  24. I loved Jos Louis when I was growing up and I still do! I need to make this cake ASAP!! Thanks for the recipe!

  25. I love and ate Joe Louis cakes when I was growing up..actually I purchase them for our girls and still eat them..lol

  26. Yes I loved them, often had them in my lunches for school. I would definitely try making this cake!

  27. I love Joe Louie and still buy them for my lunches! and I do totally see myself making this cake!

  28. Ooohhh I loved snack cakes growing up! I would definitely try and make this one – maybe next valentines day 🙂

  29. Jos. Louis were very popular when I was growing up in Montreal. We weren’t allowed to have them except as a rare treat., so we would gobble them up when we had them.

  30. I loved Jos Louis when is was growing up. If I had a choice for a treat in my lunch it was one of my top go to picks.

  31. Yes I had them all the time growing up (and buy them sometimes for my kids for their school lunches)

  32. I loved eating them when I was kid and ate a lot of them, I haven’t had one in a long time now, but I would love to make the cake, it would be a hit with everyone!!

  33. I’ve always loved them and I was lucky enough to get them for my lunch. The only thing I had to do, is hide them in my closet because my step father would eat them all before we even got to Monday.

  34. This brings back a ton of memories!! I used to eat a Jos Louis everyday in High School and had a precise way of eating them!!

  35. YuMmmm!! Yes I grew up with Jos Louis, and I will be taking a stab at making this cake! 🙂

  36. Yes , our school cafe sold them. Now I like to eat the half sized ones. lol. My age has caught up tome.

  37. I love Jos Louis! They were a special treat when I was a kid and I always looked forward to them. Even now that I’m an adult and can bake my own yummy things, Jos Louis are still something I treat myself to. And now that I’ve seen your cake recipe, it might be a treat I have more often 🙂

  38. Jos Louis were in my lunch bags at school growing up and now I buy them for my families lunches.I would definitely make this dreamy looking cake! YUMMO!

  39. I loved Joe Louis growing up,,,and I love them now! I can definitely see me making this cake!

  40. I never had Jos Louis growing up (or ever, even as an adult now), but I for sure would make this cake – it looks absolutely delicious!!

  41. Yes, I used to eat Joe Louis treats when I was growing up. This recipe looks good and I’m going to try it out.

  42. I have never tasted a Jos Louis Cake- so sad! I definately would like to try the recipe as it looks so yummy!

  43. I have eaten far too many Jos Louis when I was younger. I would love for my GF to surprise me with a homemade one!

  44. Coming from a family of 8, it was a real treat when Mom brought home Joe Louis cakes. To this day, we still enjoy them!!

  45. Who doesn’t love a Jos Louis…thanks for sharing the recipe…once my boys come home from university I will definitely be making this!!!

  46. Everyone in our family LOVED Joe Louis cakes, they were the #1 item on our weekly shopping list, my favourite was the chocolate, but my sister also loved the vanilla.! Your cake looks so yummy, it brings back great memories and wish I had a slice of it now!

  47. Unfortunately I wasn’t luckily enough to have Jos Louis growing up. The cake looks amazing.

  48. I LOVED them growing up and had them in my lunches at school all the time — of all of the ones in the Joe Louis family (half moons, mille fueilles, etc) they were my fave! And I would absolutely make this cake. It looks amazing!

  49. No- I did not eat Jos louis cakes growing but I ‘m keeping this recipe to make this cake in the future.

  50. I always loved Joe Louis in my lunch and I cannot wait to try and make this cake.

  51. We did not have the money to spend on extra things like this growing up but I would love to try this cake.

  52. This brings back memories of eating Jo Louis when I was young (still do) Thanks for the chance to win.

  53. We would always get Jos Louis for family roadtrips to BC! I’m not very good at baking cakes but this cake looks spectacular & not much baking required!

  54. I never had these before, but it looks really fun and seems like it would taste great!

  55. My mom use to put Jos Louis in my lunch when I was a kid and that is why I would love to make this cake!

  56. This cake looks yummy! My parents didn’t buy us Joe Louis growing up but I enjoyed them at friend’s homes : )

  57. I do remember Jos Louis products growing up. I would love to give this cake a try. It looks even better.

  58. I loved Jos Louis growing up and I have a friend at work who still eats them nearly every day! He would loooooove this cake!

  59. oh yes! they were a real treat, not something that we regularly had in our house – this cake looks so decadent – I would love to make it!!

  60. We were never allowed to indulge in these kind of sweets. I would love to indulge now though

  61. On July 1st, 2017 I’ll celebrate 20 years since I moved to Canada and discovered Jos Louis cakes – I would DEFINITELY make this. Great recipe, thanks!

  62. This is the first I’ve heard about Jos Louis cakes! They sound amazing though; I think I’ll give it a try!

  63. Jos Louis were my favourite as a kid and still are!
    i’m definitely going to be making this cake this summer…or maybe even for my brothers birthday that’s coming up in 2 weeks.

  64. I did like them growing up , they tasted better then and had more cream in them . Now they are smaller and less cake and filling lol . Your cake looks amazing.

  65. I did not learn to love Joe Louis until I was married. My husband grew up with them and introduced them to me. I now love them and would love to be able to make this cake

  66. I liked them, perhaps not as much as my friends because my parents didn’t buy them. My little sister was a huge fan and my hubby is JUST like her and so I would make the cake for sure.. for his bday ideally!

  67. I remember begging my mom for these every time she took me grocery shopping! She never did get me any so my friends shared theirs with me:)

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